We call it “rotsy” or “RO”.  It’s a military curriculum offered in almost 20% of American high schools.

JROTC is a big recruitment tool for the military.  It conditions young people for life in the service.  According to Department of Defense figures, approximately 40 percent of those who graduate from JROTC eventually join the military.  54% of JROTC participants nationwide are students of color.

After the 1992 Los Angeles riots, General Colin Powell convinced Congress to expand JROTC. He sold the program as a social remedy for the problems of "minorities living in crime-plagued ghettos".  As a result, the program is now in the midst of the largest expansion in its history. 
 
Under the standard JROTC contract, the school district must provide insurance, building facilities and maintenance, and must assume responsibility for paying instructors' salaries, employment taxes and benefits. 

Retired Rear Admiral Eugene J. Carroll criticized the expansion of the JROTC program, saying "It is appalling that the Pentagon is selling a military training program as a remedy for intractable social and economic problems in inner cities. Surely, its real motive is to inculcate a positive attitude toward military service at a very early age, thus creating a storehouse of potential recruits." 

47 of the top 50 high schools providing African-American recruits (94%) have JROTC programs.  43 of the top 50 high schools providing Hispanic recruits (86%) have JROTC programs.